


Hindsight is 20/20

by kalika_999



Series: Stucky AU One Shots [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Decisions, Christmas, Deaf Clint Barton, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Alternating, Steve is a dingdong, poor Rudolph, prank gone wrong, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 06:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9060370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalika_999/pseuds/kalika_999
Summary: So, maybe it was a bad idea.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hope everyone's having a good holiday :) I didn't really have time to construct a proper holiday fic and wrote a draft of this while in flight for my vacation. lol XD

So maybe in hindsight it was a terrible prank to pull on Bucky even for all the ones he set up on him but if he had any idea it would blow up in his face like it did he wouldn’t have even attempted a joke like that.

_Especially not two days before Christmas._

It all started with Chinese take out and a cheesy 80’s horror flick that Bucky wanted to watch and Steve being the guy that he is was all for BBQ pork fried rice and white face makeup on the undead especially when it was with his favorite person in the whole wide world and they had some quality time to unwind together after a hard day.

Surrounded by a vomit of decorations and lights, he wasn’t even going to mention the way too tall real pine tree standing proudly at the corner of the room by the window, Bucky rustled through the paper bag pulling out containers while Steve was grabbing some festive paper napkins.

“Did you get me my spicy squid?”

“Yup.”

“What about some duck?”

“Uh huh. I even got us some extra egg rolls.”

“Oh God I could just marry you.”

Steve was head first in the fridge hunting down the bottle of sriracha and all he could do was grin, listening to Bucky already biting into one of the egg rolls and turning up the volume on the starting credits.

He had asked Bucky if he was serious the first time he blurted it out back in high school in his bedroom and Bucky backpedaled so fast, he almost fell off his bed. They were both glad since neither was ready even though they both felt like they were made for each other and only them, which led to Bucky uttering it like it was a second I love you and for Steve, he loved it just as much as his favorite three words.

In hindsight, Steve really wished he had better ideas sometimes.

_Especially not two days before Christmas when stress was high._

He had a plan, a terribly stupid plan come to think of it. What was new, right? He walked in with the hot sauce and placed it within Bucky’s reach, twirling his fork in his other hand because you’d think with the amount of Chinese food they consumed he would have known by now how to use chopsticks.

The fork slipped from his fingers and fell between the coffee table and the couch, Bucky too distracted by the movie and dinner to pay much attention.

Dropping down on one knee, Steve took one of his boyfriend’s free hand and got him to look over absently, a chow mein noodle hanging off his lip and brows knit in confusion.

Steve hammed it up a little, looking nervous but determined and the second it took Bucky to realize what he thought was going on, his eyes widened.

“James Buchanan Barnes will you- ”

“Yes!” Bucky blurted out before Steve could finish.

“-move your foot?”

Steve was trying not to laugh, grabbing the fork when he managed to nudge the foot over and it was hilarious until he looked up and saw the realization seep into Bucky’s face and glee turned into horror the instant the joke registered in his mind. Grey blue eyes were suddenly watering and hands shoved Steve backwards onto his ass realizing his tragic miscalculation that Bucky thought he was actually proposing.

Fuck, he fucked up.

“Shit. Bucky no,” He scrambled himself up off the floor, grabbing the arm of the couch and pushing to run around it. 

It seemed like the panic to get space between them over assuming something like that only pushed Bucky to panic harder. Already grabbing up his keys and shoving his one arm through the hole of his leather jacket not bothering to fix it over his left shoulder like he always did, the front door wide open and feet were hastily shuffling into his black and white sneakers still in his sweats getting the fuck out of dodge.

“No! Fuck you Steve!"

It took him a second, blindsided by the way Bucky tore out of there, that his boyfriend easily looked quite embarrassed, face flushed all the way up to the tips of his ears but also horribly upset.

This is definitely not what Steve had in mind for a prank. He’s been shaving creamed by Bucky, almost wet their bed when his hand was put in a bowl of warm water, screamed like a girl when he thought there was a rat in his dresser drawer, poured salt into his coffee and Bucky was always on the sidelines laughing like an asshole with a red face and clutching his side so hard his bicep was twitching from it. Steve would always be pissed for a measly five seconds before the laughter just infected him and he was laughing with him then Bucky was cuddling him and saying sorry even though he was still wiping tears while still chuckling away. Steve would get away with calling him an absolute asshole and his boyfriend would agree. It was always like that.

Right now though Steve was trying to run across the gravel driveway without wincing to the feel of his bare feet stabbing into the more jagged edged rocks calling after Bucky who was already in the car and roaring the engine to life. 

He contemplated jumping behind it so he couldn’t back out but he was pretty sure Bucky would have reversed out on him by accident anyway. He tried the passenger side door to see if it was open only to find it locked and Bucky didn’t even look his way, pulling out hard onto the street, taking out Rudolph standing innocently at the corner of their tiny lawn in the process and driving off at top speed. 

 

It’s two hours later and he’s nearly wracked with worry when Clint finally texts him a message telling him Bucky’s safe and at his place passed out from too much vodka and crying which the guy could have left out but was pretty sure it was on purpose. He also adds that his joke was definitely not as hilarious as Steve envisioned especially around the holidays and doesn’t answer back when Steve’s texting him back a thank you for taking care of his boyfriend.

 

There’s a careful rap of knocks on the back door by where Bucky’s passed out, face pressed into the arm of the couch and who the fuck knocks at whatever hour in the morning it is because he knows it’s morning since there’s birds chirping like they are and he doesn’t wanna get up. Everything from last night suddenly sinks in like a rock hitting water and he lifts his head a little hearing Clint’s snoring from the bedroom wishing he could be deaf too.

There’s another series of knocks knowing it’s all on him because Natasha would have either told him to open the fucking door already or she would have answered it herself and told Steve to fuck off. He can bet it’s definitely Steve, polite as he is out of habit that his knock is even polite. He kinda wishes she wasn’t on a business trip because there was a 99% chance she would have chased him away by now and he kinda wanted to see that in action.

Taking his time to get up, he opened the door begrudgingly a few minutes later with Steve looking back at him with the most stupid puppy dog look on his face and his overall appearance screams out that he hasn’t slept all night and probably needs a shower. His bright blue eyes still shined, though wet and red ringed, under unkempt hair flying this way and that to the gentle breeze holding a tray of coffee and a bag of pastries from Bucky’s favorite bakery which he knew Steve had to drive a few miles for in the opposite direction of Clint’s place to get. 

It’s not like Bucky could really say much, his clothes are wrinkled and twisted, his hair is an amazing bird’s nest of knots and he feels like he grew a full beard on his face overnight. He’s sporting a little bit of a headache from the booze and every time he woke up and realized Steve wasn’t there he would cry, the latter still apparently fresh on his face when he felt the clammy sensation on his cheeks from opening the door.

Before he could say anything, his boyfriend brought his arm out from behind his back to hold up a small bouquet of blue orchids and it’s something he’s never done before because Bucky’s not really a flowers kinda guy though he has bought a few for Steve; but there he was holding a bunch that Steve knew were his favorite if he had to pick one type. Stupid sap.

He doesn’t entirely want to deal with Steve’s ‘I’m sorry I know I’m an idiot’ face at the moment but he’s lost all power to slam the door on him and the coffee smells insanely good right now.

Instead he steps back and gestures for him to come inside, sauntering towards the kitchen counter to lean against it trying his best to stave off the urge to grab one of the coffee’s immediately lest be a sign all is forgiven which it was not, as much as it was a joke, it was a real painful one though Bucky knows it’s probably more on him than on Steve.

He does take the flowers though, Steve’s face is in permanent scolded puppy mode with his head bowed a little like he’s afraid to look at him in case Bucky freaks out again and he takes them with an awkward nod and a thank you, searching through two cabinets before finding something to them put in. They’re actually nice and it makes his heart beat a little faster. He knows they’ve been through a lot and this is really nothing, Bucky just feels a little sore and he knows by the way Steve is acting that he understands fully. He breaks out of his thoughts when the kitchen chair scrapes against the floor and Steve’s perched at the edge of it with the food placed on the table.

Bucky’s lost in beautiful soulful doe eyes that he’s been weak over for so many perfect years and Steve’s genuinely sorry and ashamed, clasping and unclasping his hands nervously, occasionally running one through his stock of dirty blond hair absently before he just swallows down his fears and just looks at him straightforward. It’s the second Bucky notices Steve’s wearing one of their bright red ugly Christmas sweaters, more specifically the one Bucky’s dearly in love with of Santa riding a unicorn and holding up a sword like he’s He-Man. He can’t help the fondness he’s feeling over the idea his boyfriend has been moping around upset in the last thing he wore before he changed for their movie.

“I’m so sorry Bucky,” Steve shifts out of his chair to stand up and almost takes a step towards him but then stops himself and his hands press to his sides, “I’m sorry, it was a terrible joke. I thought you would get a laugh out of it, it was insensitive of me.”

Leaning in against the counter all Bucky can do is sigh at first, looking at his toes before glancing up at that face he’s been in love with since the day he laid eyes on him when they were toddlers and nods a little, lifting his shoulders in a half hearted shrug he can’t help.

“I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I don’t know what it was, it just hit me hard..”

There’s more he wants to say, wants to explain himself because he does tend to go overboard at times and lose his temper because he gets anxious about things and freaks out but everything’s abruptly caught in his throat when Steve’s standing suddenly just in front of him with a gentle smile.

“I do want to marry you Bucky, I just never wanted to pressure you into it. I know you’re juggling a lot with school and work and I’m doing pretty much the same thing but it’s always been in my head that whenever it happened for real, when you said it and meant it I would say yes. Then your ‘marry me’ phrase as another I love you was just this thing we had and knew one day I would do it back to you and it would click. The idea suddenly came up as a joke because I was sure you were still not ready and that was alright so I figured you’d get a kick out of it. I’m sorry I messed up so bad, you surprised me with your reaction and I realized you were more than ready. Here I am messing up Christmas for us with my stupidity.”

Bucky _was_ ready, he just wasn’t sure how ready until Steve decided to joke with him and it hit him suddenly that he really did want that, right then.

He’s off in his own head when suddenly Steve’s taking his hand in his, firmly holding it with a look of sudden determination different from last night and rummaging into his coat pocket until he’s retrieving a little tiny black box and dropping to one knee in front of Bucky’s gross sweats with an earnest face, “I can’t picture a day without you there and I never want that to ever happen in my future. So, James Buchanan Barnes, would you do me the honor of being my husband and being by my side forever?”

Everything is stuck in Bucky’s throat for a second, Steve looking hopeful and the morning light is glinting off a beautiful white gold ring nesting in black velvet, they both look like shit and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He swallows forcefully before his head is nodding rapidly and his hand’s squeezing Steve’s, “Yeah, fuck yes. Steve yes I’ll marry you, Goddammit yes.”

Bucky pulls him up, crushing into Steve’s chest and pressing his face against his neck. He’s pretty sure Steve’s crying a little but he’s also laughing. Grinning like an idiot, he keeps telling Bucky he’s sorry and he’s going to make it up to him every single damn day they have together.

“Wait, how long have you been planning this?”

Steve’s shrugging sheepishly and curling his shoulders in like it’s going to make him look smaller than the brick wall he already is, “About two weeks give or take.”

“This ring has been in our home for over two weeks and I never found it?!”

Apparently his brand new fiance looks awfully proud of that and can only wiggle his brows. Bucky sweeps in and kisses him fast and deep leaving his favorite guy surprised as well as a little breathless already feeling him pressed half hard against him and Bucky takes it as a victory payback. 

“If you two start screwing on the counter, I’m going to tell Nat.”

They both choose to ignore Clint who’s already spied the coffee and pastries. Steve draws back a little with a careful boyish smile, leaning them together forehead to forehead and playfully bumping noses with him, “You make me so happy.”

All Bucky can really do is melt against him, cradled around strong arms like he belongs there for eternity and smile stupidly, “Merry Christmas you stupid Punk.”

He can feel Steve smile against his lips after giving him another kiss, “Merry Christmas to you too Jerk.”

They stayed like that in each others space, cuddled close and Clint slurping coffee at the kitchen table, it was exactly what they wanted.

"Can I have my ring now?" Bucky wondered out, eyes roaming to the box still in Steve’s possession.

Steve didn’t hesitate, grabbing his hand and helped slip it on.

It fit perfectly.


End file.
